Scattered Memories
by parsnip
Summary: A series of oneshots involving 6x9, 6xTreize [friends], or Une. [Commencement] When rising star, Treize Kushrenada, is invited to give a commencement speech, he never expected someone would be able to grasp the ideals he was striving so hard to instil.
1. Morning Comfort

**Title:** Morning Comfort  
**Pairing:** Lucrezia Noin/Zechs Merquise  
**Genres:** Romance, Reminiscing, Gen  
**Rating:** G  
**Word Count: **696  
**Disclaimer: **Gundam Wing and all its characters do not belong to me and are only used to provide mutual amusement at no profit. This was also based off of the theme Ritual, Memories, First Encounters, and School listed on the livejournal community 55themes.  
**Summary:** With Zechs missing in action, sometimes the best comfort is found in the memory of habits and habits shared.

**Morning Comfort**

Skin stretched over cracking bones as her muscles eagerly flexed and contracted in bliss. Noin rolled over onto her back and looked at the ceiling. It was 4 am, and she was wide awake as usual.

Sighing to herself, she crawled out from underneath the bed covers and walked to her closet. Pulling out a pair of shorts and a muscle t-shirt, she quickly changed out of her bed clothes, following an age old ritual started during her years at the academy.

Limbering up her body for her early morning run, she let her mind wander to those first few years when she met a certain someone six months missing in action. Zechs had always been a quiet, studious man with his head stuck in a book or hooked into a training simulator. The only odd thing he ever did was wake-up before roster call and take an early morning run before the sun rose over the horizon.

Noin smiled softly to herself as she let herself out the door to her modest looking apartment. She had originally been dismayed that first year when she found out her coveted early morning runs were being infiltrated by another student when they first crossed paths a month into the year. She had been even more dismayed when she recognized that same student as her whispered rival in tactics. Who else would go running in the pre-dawn with a helmet covering his head? He was insane to trap all that heat inside his body. Surely the sweat would get to one, but she never did see him without his mask during those first years.

Rumor had it that the man was disfigured beneath the mask and cared not to be pitied. Still others thought that the helmet provided enhanced sensory perception. No one really knew so when Noin headed out of her dorm and set off at a quick pace through the dew kissed school grounds, she felt betrayed by the dawn for sharing her time with a man who unfairly kept an edge over her and all her newly acquired friends and school mates.

At first it was just a few seconds of discomfort when they passed each other on the beaten track, each going their separate ways and steering clear of each other. Later, as their rivalry began to set into daily life, they changed their daily courses so they ran next to each other for a short while, some five hundred yards or so and tested his or her paces against the other. As the year rolled to a close, they silently came to the mutual agreement to start and end their runs together, each complimenting the other's style and pushing each to new heights of fitness.

No words were ever spoken to each other. It was just an easy camaraderie that lasted until their graduation. It wasn't until that last year that they truly spoke to each other, broaching a friendship already cemented in daily ritual. Now, Noin took comfort in her morning runs, believing against all hope that somewhere out there, Zechs was enjoying a similar pastime wherever he found refuge.

Noin pushed herself off the ground, flying across the twisted streets of the city towards the park. The silence of presumed death weighed heavy on her heart much as the silence of the dawn weighed on her limbs, the air empty by her side. Silence was a necessity though, wherever he was hiding. It was needed to ensure peace lasted in this dawn of a new era, but if only she had known where he found refuge. She would give up everything to have just one more run in the crisp morning air while the long strands of his hair streamed behind him.

She ran on through the ill-lit streets, shedding her misgivings in lieu of the comfort of habit. He would surface again one day, and when that happened, she'd be ready to run by his side for all the years to come. She could wait him out. She did it before, and she'd do it again. A smile creased her face as she picked up her pace. She would be ready.


	2. Hidden Scars

**Title:** Hidden Scars  
**Genres: **Angst, introspective, reminiscent  
**Warnings:** General death and reminiscing of death (nothing described in detail)  
**Characters/Pairings:** Treize Kushrenada and Zechs Merquise Friendship  
**Word Count:** 1021  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer: ** The inspiration for this piece was taken from the anime Gundam Wing and livejournal community beatofdestiny themes Death and War Within  
**Summary: **Zechs Merquise comes home from his first battle and must learn to accept death committed by his own hands, struggling to remember why he chose such a burden in the first place.

**Hidden Scars**

It was a meaningless dispute. That's all it was, yet he was forced to do the unthinkable. With one press of a button, he killed a man and sealed his fate. No longer could he hold the dream of returning to the Sanct Kingdom un-bloodied, unsullied, and untainted. He was now a soldier through and through.

Zechs huddled in the cockpit of his mobile suit, unwilling to leave the cramped space and face the so-called real world where he'd be praised for his quick thinking and fast reflexes. He did not want others to congratulate him on a kill well done.

Nostrils flaring, breath heavy in the darkness, he didn't know how he could live with himself. He ruined his family's name with the atrocities committed today. He threw aside his father's ideal of pacifism to pick up the red-tainted glove of battle. His soul ached with the weight.

Teeth clenching, Zechs tried to battle back the hysteria threatening him with insanity. Eight years ago, a few weeks after his eleventh birthday, Romefeller destroyed his ancestral home and everyone gathered within it. They chose the perfect time too, waiting for a family reunion to gather to celebrate the newest addition to the family, a niece on his mother's side and his cousin.

He was spared only because he was hiding in the forest nearby away from the gaggles of females cooing over his cousin. He would never forget it. Mobile suits had come from out of nowhere, blasting the keep with bullets and shells, decimating it's once grand walls to allow ground troops to infiltrate its doors. The screams had been terrifying as guests scattered and servants begged for their lives while bullets sliced through the air picking off each and every one of them.

He went into shock seeing his family fall one by one. No one was spared. Hours later, he came to in the old gardener's shed, one of the remaining surviving servants. It had taken him weeks to remember the events fully, and months longer to sleep through the night.

It had taken him several years to come to terms with the burning desire for revenge. No, it wasn't your typical revenge, but rather the type where one defied the very beings who thought to wipe out an unfulfilled threat. He was going to return the Sanct kingdom to the Peacecraft name.

Watching the news had revealed to him the path he needed to pursue at the tender age of fourteen. He saw Darlian standing outside a plane with a little girl, eight years old or so, hiding behind him. He would recognize her anywhere. It was Relena. Somehow, she had survived the massacre.

Relena. Clarity pierced the shroud covering his mind as a plan unfolded with startling simplicity. For her, he would do anything. He would become a soldier of Oz, the very organization that helped Romefeller destroy his family, and in turn, he would one day destroy them by giving to Relena their ancestral home free of soldiers and war.

Determination lined his shoulders and steeled his heart as he set out that day to petition the Academy for training as a soldier. Everyday he worked on his own to pass the necessary tests. And one day, he became a soldier.

But was it worth it?

Zechs smashed his hand into the cockpit, anger suffusing his body. He no longer knew the answer to that question. Eyes closed behind the safety of his mask, he fought to come to terms with his choice.

Unnoticed went the hiss of the door opening into the quiet hanger and the man who stood outside.

Unnoticed went the understanding look shining in his blue eyes.

"Zechs, it is time for you leave. Everyone is gone."

Zechs opened his eyes and glared through the narrow slit of his visor at the man who had seen untapped potential in him and guided his career thus far. "Is it worth this?" he hissed, needing guidance yet again from his mentor, from his friend.

Treize gazed solemnly at his protégée. He would one day become as great as he if his ambitions held firm. His motives were pure and untainted with greed. He just had to survive the blood staining his soul. "I don't now. You'll have to answer that question yourself someday. For now, know that you did well. If you had not shot down that man then another of your comrades would have or else died along with him."

Short, staccato laughter infiltrated the empty hanger. "That's poor comfort."

"It was not meant to be comfort. You chose to follow the life of a soldier and there is no comfort in that."

Stillness flooded his frame as Zechs pondered his words. There was often a hidden meaning in his words, a double-edged sword few understood, and he was normally not left in the dark for long.

Releasing his held breath, he smiled cruelly. Yes, there was no comfort to be found as a soldier. There was only the belief that his death prevented the deaths of innocents like Relena. His sins showed the atrocity of war in its fullest glory, bringing to light the unnecessary waste of human life. His sins would one day allow people to yearn for a peace that only his sister could give to them.

And he would one day owe it all to the one man who understood the war within his own soul because Treize was constantly at war with himself. It would be years before he fully comprehended the path he chose for the second time that day.

Taking the hand patiently waiting in front of him, he undid the straps holding him in place and left the mobile suit to sit alone in the darkness. Walking side by side, the two friends left the hanger to adjourn to Treize's suite. It was a night to seek solace in quiet chambers, concentrating only on a game of chess and ignoring the stain spreading across their features. It was a night for friends to forget themselves in death's ever present silence.

* * *

**Author's note:** I'm just starting to get into GW fanfic and would really appreciate any tips on characterization or any other feedback you'd care to give me. Thanks!  



	3. Working Through the Night

** Title: ** Working through the Night  
**Livejournal community: **BeatofDestiny**  
Theme: ** #53 – Never Ending Quest  
**Genres: **Genfic, Contemplative  
**Characters/Pairings: ** Character – Lady Une  
**Word Count: ** 536  
**Rating: ** PG  
**Disclaimer: **None of the Gundam Wing Characters belong to me. I merely borrow them from time to time.

**Summary: **Another late night at the office finds Lady Une working. Her mind meandering, she finds new strength of resolve, the will to continue on.

**Working Through the Night **

Lady Une rubbed the bridge of her nose, carefully avoiding displacing the spectacles from their place a mere centimeter above her thin fingers. She had been at the office for nine hours already and had at least another four left to go to clear her desk of the mounds of paperwork.

She glared at the offensive pile innocently resting on the steel gray top of her desk. Some were merely reported rumors of insurgent activity while others were just rumors of rumors. Each had to be followed up and dealt with on an individual basis in order to maintain the peace of a newly born world. Her task was to determine which were more likely to develop quickly into potentially hazardous situations.

She stood up and turned her back on the offensive sight and gazed out the night bright horizon of the city. So many people depended on her and the Preventers to deal with the rumors before they became a problem. Few knew just how understaffed and overworked the organization was. It was a never-ending quest, and one she shouldered to honor the ideals of one Treize Kushrenada.

Her jaw clenched at the memories flooding her consciousness. It had taken so long for her to realize the full extent of his ideals. She had almost lost him before she could tell him she understood. It had been so close…

Her body shivered as the air conditioning kicked on, a reminder that she still had work to do. She closed her tired eyes, basking in the fresh awareness the chill in the air stirred in her body. Sometimes, shock was the only thing that kept her awake in the sea of numbers, reports, and mission statements.

How Treize was able to organize Oz in the midst of war was beyond her. Delegation had been a key, she knew, but she did delegate. She delegated as much of the work as she could. It was the only reason she ever made it home during the early morning hours to brush the hair off Marimaia's face as she slept. Frustration coiled her muscles tight, as her eyes snapped open to look again at the happily bustling city below her. They were so innocent, those people moving nonchalantly through the night, and it was her job to protect that innocence.

God knew she wasn't. Her hands were stained with the blood of a hundred innocents. One look at Releena reminded her of that blood, and she saw her on a daily basis whether in person or on the news. It was blood she had shed in the name of an ideal, a misinterpreted ideal, but an ideal nonetheless. So many suffered for her mistakes.

Turning abruptly back to her desk, she sat down, poised on the edge of her seat to enhance her concentration and pulled the closet report to her. She had paid for that mistake, and she would continue paying for it. The least she could do was prevent others from making that same error in judgment. It would be a task that would consume her entire life. But she did it for Peace, she did it for Treize, but most of all, she did it for herself.


	4. Commencement

**Title:** Commencement  
**Theme:** #37 – Enigma; #50 – Speakers; #9 – School  
**Genres: **General, Contemplative  
**Warnings:** None.  
**Characters/Pairings:** Friends – Zechs Merquise/Treize Kushrenada  
**Word Count:** 1074  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer**: The Gundam Wing characters and plot lines do not belong to me but Bandai et al. The themes were taken from the livejournal community Beatofdestiny.

**Summary: **When rising star of Oz and newest prodigy of the Romefeller Foundation, Treize Kushrenada, is invited to give a commencement speech, he never expected he would find someone who immediately understood the ideals he was striving so hard to instill.

**Commencement**:

Applaud rippled across the parade ground as the quickly rising commander Treize Kushrenada took the podium. His blue eyes swept the recently graduated Cadets. He could see the pride of accomplishment in every rigid line of their bodies as they stood to attention, parents and personal clapping enthusiastically around them. Invincibility shined in their eyes and eager young faces, but that would die soon as theory was put into practice and the reality of war stripped them of their innocence. He was there to give them the encouragement the rawest recruit needed to pull through those moments of doubt and depression and to lay before them a challenge to grow as officers.

As quiet settled over the gathered, Treize flashed a charming smile. "Greetings to the class of After Colony 189 and congratulations on completing your training." Smiles broke out over the rigid graduates, an acceptable momentary lapse of training.

"A bright future awaits some of you filled with honor and glory. Some will rise to lead armies into battle. To you will fall the responsibility of success and failure. Others will be entrusted to carry out your superior's orders in the heat of battle. You will be the backbone of the military and the ones who will be counted on the most."

Pausing a moment, he inspected each Cadet carefully. Most looked attentive, but a score or so appeared to grasp his hidden meaning. Those few he took note of for later consideration. Intelligence coupled with analytic thought was necessary in a position of note. Without it, battles were lost before they even began.

"Still, with battle comes injury and death. It eventually hits the best of us. All the grief, loss, and even fear can disrupt our ability to act, but to feel emotion is the cornerstone of humanity. However, we are often taught that all emotion should be locked up, that there is no room for emotion on the battlefield. I am here to tell you that ideology is wrong." Confusion flickered through the eyes of many; understanding of only a handful.

"It takes a strong person to feel and harness his emotions in battle, tempering its edge with logic. Without something to fight for and against, battle is meaningless and better left to computers, to ones and zeros. Our humanity separates us from the coldest simulation." Of the handful, only two appeared to follow his logic, a young lady and a man who hid most of his features behind a mask.

"It is a paradox for many, but standing before me today is the best and brightest Earth and the Colonies have to offer. To continue your training, we must all master ourselves before we can master the machines that serve to protect us and those we are sworn to protect." Of those two still left in the running, only one appeared to acknowledge his words with the tiniest nod of his head. It would have been missed if the young commander had not been attentively watching.

"So to you, I give you my thanks for completing this first step in a lifetime of training and discipline. I extend to you the best of luck in your future as a solider of Oz, and look forward to watching your careers grow. Now please, go and greet your families as Second Lieutenants."

Treize stepped back from the podium as cheering erupted from the newly ranked graduates. Pride echoed in his frame as the students broke rank and ran to greet their families. Well, all except for one.

Zechs listened attentively to Kushrenada's speech. His words struck a cord within him, mirroring the ideology he had worked so hard to implement ever since the Sanct Kingdom had gone up in flames. He nearly shuddered. His father was most likely rolling in his grave for the dishonor he brought on the family name, becoming a solider. He would not understand that in order to achieve peace, one must have the means to fight to protect peace. The Sanct Kingdom's lack of military and belief in total pacifism was what brought the family to ruin. All of them died except for himself and his baby sister.

Bringing his attention back to the speaker's words, he felt them echo in his heart. To control one's emotions with logic brought back memories. He had been forced to learn to hide his disgust and shame for petitioning admittance into the Academy, but he did it so he could protect his sister when the time came for her to resume her throne and take up the arms of total pacifism again. Logically, he had no other choice but the one he made, but emotionally he felt like he was becoming the biggest traitor the Peacecraft name had ever known.

Now, standing in a deserted field with murmuring congratulations echoing all around him, he kept Treize Kushrenada keenly locked in his gaze. How was it that a man who lauded the glory of war could understand his motives so well? It was an enigma he was determined to unravel. Stepping forward under the heat of the noon-day sun, he gave the still smiling commander a crisp salute which was returned just as cleanly.

"What may I do for you, Second Lieutenant?" asked Treize almost nonchalantly although curiosity began to eat within him. Unveiling the young man was quickly rising in priority.

"Sir, I wished to discuss with you your commencement speech. It would seem to be an unusual stance for one such as yourself to take considering your ruthlessness in gaining favor with the Romefeller foundation over the years as well as several of your recent battles." Zechs watched as Treize seemed to delight in the question.

Another charming smile flitted across the commander's aristocratic face. "Indeed it would seem so, but I do not wish to distract you from the well wishes of your family Second Lieutenant…"

"Zechs Merquise, Colonel Kushrenada, and I do not have any family to receive congratulations from. I am here by my own choice to serve Oz."

"Interesting," said Treize as he motioned for Merquise to follow him off the sidelines, enthralled by the enigma the solider presented him. "Then I will be happy to discuss ideology with you."

As each followed the other across the parade ground to the more private officer's hall inside the Academy both Treize and Zechs were unaware of the foundation for a lifelong friendship being laid.

**Author's Note:** I couldn't remember off the top of my head if there were any dates given for the destruction of the Sanct Kingdom and Zech's age in relation to the series, so I kind of made some up. Please let me know if there was anything specific mentioned!


End file.
